Elwin Covey was an assistant and protégé to Glenn Seaborg, and spent most of his time with the Manhattan Project at the X-10 plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Covey was recruited from the University of California, Berkeley, and served briefly in the Chemistry Division at the Mettalurgical Lab at the Unviersity of Chicago. In 1945, Covey signed a letter drafted by Leo Szilard, urging President Truman to demonstrate the weapon's power publicly before using it in combat. After the war, Covey was the Secretary of the Information and Records Committe of the Association of Oak Ridge Scientists at Clinton Laboratories (AORSCL).